Expectations

It's odd, but when I got up on Tuesday morning and decided I was just too tired to go into the city, I was really beating myself up about it. I chastised myself for not being in better shape and allowing that to get in the way of doing something I really wanted to do.

And yet later that same day, as I sat in a coffee shop/bookstore across from Yale University, I felt like I had spent the day doing exactly what I wanted to do after all. I relaxed in the hotel in the morning, then drove north to Madison, where first I browsed in a lovely bookstore and then visited Madison Wool, a beautiful and cozy knit shop.

 

 

I bought some yarn (surprise!) and then I drove south to New Haven, where I ate a delicious late lunch at Atticus, right off the beautiful campus of Yale University. I sat at the counter and chatted with the waitress about knitting, because of course, I brought my knitting along with me.

 

After walking around the gorgeous campus, I went to Knit New Haven, a cute little shop nearby, and bought a little more yarn, before driving to Meredith and Ryan's home, feeling relaxed and rested and hardly tired at all. What a waste of time and energy it was being upset and disappointed at myself. I hope to remember that little lesson, but I'm afraid I'll have to learn it over and over again. So silly.

Meredith and I went on our yarn crawl yesterday. We drove up to Putney, Vermont, and visited Green Mountain Spinnery. It was a very small but welcoming space. Even though they weren't doing tours, they were kind enough to allow me to take a couple of photographs. Of course, I bought some gorgeous yarn.

Afterwards, we drove south to Northampton, Massachusetts, and spent some time at WEBS. I was amazed. They had so much yarn, and so many different kinds, and despite the size, the women working there were extremely friendly. I didn't expect to buy as much there as I did, but the discount was fabulous! I should have come prepared with project requirements, but instead, I just wandered around and picked up whatever struck my fancy, which is the usual way I buy yarn I'm afraid. Even Ryan is a little stunned at the amount of yarn I have acquired on this trip.

I started the Hitchhiker shawl on this trip, using a skein of String Theory yarn i bought at Knit New Haven. This is my third attempt at a shawl this week, and this one is a keeper. The first two I started and frogged were with the very lovely pattern, A Simple Yet Effective Shawl, but on both tries I chose yarn that was just too scratchy for my liking. I know if I'm going to get any use out of a shawl, it's going to be used as a scarf, and neither the Noro sock yarn nor the Tofutsies yarn would feel good around my neck.

Meredith and I spent a couple of hours last night watching An Island at War on Netflix and knitting, and then continued the series this morning. If you're still missing Downton Abbey, this will help, although it looks like they only filmed the one season, so a lot of story lines are left unanswered. What a great way to spend a day of spring break!